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This is the time of year when swimsuits emerge and boats wake from a long winter’s nap. It’s a beautiful season of water skiing, boat food and kids chattering like baby birds as they are towed through the water on inflatable tubes.

It’s a beautiful season, but there is one huge problem. For me, boat season also means trailer-towing season.

There’s a lot of potential for hidden damage when shopping for a used truck.

It can be challenging enough to find any used vehicle without hidden damages or missed repairs. With a large pickup, buyers have to consider those things along with any potential problems caused by the amount of strain the engine has experienced due to towing.

A used F-150 that has cruised the highways of Eastern Washington will be a better buy than one that has spent the majority of its life towing an 8,000-pound trailer up and down mountain passes. Even worse is the pickup that has worked consistently over its towing capacity.

The only real ways to know if a truck has been overworked are to ask the seller or have a mechanic look closely for extra wear. Or, check the news to see if it’s recently towed a space shuttle.